If its during a race, the track is exceptionally hot and can melt your shoes, if its just a normal day the track is super sticky. shoes will fall off or you will fall down if you arent careful.
I assume that is due to the rubber building up on the surface rather than into it?
I can imagine someone walking onto the surface and the shoes staying stuck. Subsequent steps in bare feet must involve a lot of hopping and screaming.
âBut in 2010 Larry Crispe of the famous Bandimere Speedway in Colorado invented the Tire Rotator Machine. It has four inflated racing slicks in back that rotate opposite the direction of travel. When used together, they can lay down an entirely new, clean layer of rubber onto a drag strip.â
âAfter the rubberization of the track, glue comes next. Itâs the difference between a good racing surface and a great one, says Drag Racing Online . There are different brands and grades, and they can be combined or diluted. Some work better on cold tracks, others on warm days. And you have to prepare for the heaviest usage. NASCAR just discovered this stuff a few years ago and has been using it on one-groove tracks where cars have trouble passing. Joey Logano calls it âawesome sauce.ââ
This is an interesting conversation. Our home track, Hill Country Kart Club in New Braunfels Texas, is an all concrete track is is famous for its LOW grip surface. However, itâs a fairly polished surface probably from years of use.
Can always have the corners shot blasted to scarify the surface and add grip
Speaking of Hill Country Kart Club, and some of the other comments above, they donât race in the rain because the surface becomes like ice on it. Another thing regarding concrete that I have notices at that track is that it is extremely bumpy in some places, kind of like Sebring. I think it is easier to get smooth asphalt at the beginning which doesnât need expansion joints, but concrete will need expansion joints to keep from cracking.
I think Hill Country has low grip on itâs concrete would be how it was poured, or the mixture that was used. I different mixture could have given a different surface texture, giving some more grip.
There are polymer additives that increase the cohesive strength of asphalt & itâs durability lifespan. I can see concrete corners, but a full concrete track sounds expensive, unless itâs really short.
@Bimodal_Rocket , it is a very good topic, especially because it fits perfectly with the moment we are facing here in Brazil.
This year, our national championship will be hosted in a track like that, I mean, asphalt was replaced by concrete in the inside section of all turns due to wear and tear as it is an old track.
Diandra, the author of the article you shared made it very clear what are the reasons concrete usually presents a better grip. Thanks for sharing.
So now I would like to ask you guys some tips to bring to the national championship next month.
As it is my first time racing in a track like that combines asphalt in the straights and concrete in the corners, do you have any chassis setup tips to avoid getting consumed by these grip differences between these surfaces?